Vegetable slicing machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 B. L. ADAMSYON VEGETABLE SLICING MACHINE March 25,.1958

Fledept. 20. 1956 United States Patent* i VEGETABLE SLIC-ING Bently L;Adamson, Denver, Colo. Applieation September 20, '1956,l SerialNo.`@11,1144

9Claims. (Cl.:14678),`

This invention relates to `.vegetable slicing ,machinesand moreparticularly, to wafde potato 'chip machines.`

Attempts vhave been made for manyyears to produce a machinewhiclrwould`:slice a potato into the `form of socal'led wailie chips that' are laterfried and sold in place ofthe ordinary potato chips.- A number of thesemachines have,` in iact,"'been produced;l however,` most of `themV are2,827,938 Patented Mar. 275, 1958 ICC i 'framecarryingjbearings12;and14tin which drive'shaft 16 objectionable because they waste toornuchofthe 'potato N" and they operate too slowly to givetheproduction'necessaryfor economicalv commercial operation; Also, theoverlapping'and countererotating bl-adesemployed'in most ofthe prior artmachinesto produce the'watlle-like appearing slices requirecaret'uldesign and adjustment if theyare to function properly. Theseblades cause some waste and the whole machine `is difficult to maintainin proper working `order due to the .precise and delicate positioning ofthe vblades relative to one another and to the .potato being sliced;

Other 'vegetable slicing machines are known that employ a drumprovided'with one or more scoring'blades'that score the sunface of thevegetable` in'two `different directions'and then cut"`ol"thescoredportion. In these.' machines, however," three operations areperformed ^`onthe vegetable as it is iirst scored in one direction,Ythen scored in a'diterentdirectionand, `finally;v the scored or di'cedportion is cut off. The instant machine, on the `other hand,

places a ripple surface ont the vegetable and cuts the slice,

oif in asingle uninterrupted' operation.

Although certain of the prior art vegetable scoringand slicing machinesutilize 'the principle of a drum mounted for both reciprocatory `androtational movement to score thesurface of the vegetable in twodifferent directions, the slicingoperation i-s carried out while'thedrum is merely rotating4 and not reciprocating. This, of course,requires that the Idrum cease reciprocation during' a portion of'eachrevolution which complicates the Vdrive -mechanism land places severelimitation on the speed of operation.

It is, therefore, one of the principal objects of ,the'present inventionto provide a vegetable slicing machine that will `producewaffle chips,in a single operation;

A second object of the invention is to produce a slicing machinethatreciprocates continuously as it rotates.

Further objectsof the invention are to provide anl improved wafe potatochip slicing machine that is fast, troubler-free and vwhich contains asimple and inexpensive drive' arrangement;`

Anladditional object of the invention is yto produce -a 'wafiiechipmachine that eliminates substantially all waste.

, Other object-s willibe inpart apparent'and'iinpart pointedloutspecifically hereinafter in connection with the description of thedrawing` thatfollows,pand inwl'iich:

Figure 1`isa' front elevation of the wafe potato chip `against theoutersurface of the ,drumintojthe path of the Figu-re3 ,is an'enlargedsection ofthe drum and'feed ychutes taken along line 3'-3 of Figure 1;

kis"journalediforrotationi A pulley 1S-is mounted on the end ofi-'thedrive *shaft andconenfcted to'motorpulley Z0 bybelt 272. The driveshalft 16 is driven by motorzii acting ,througlrthe pulleys'jand belt. i

Stationarygear 2.61's "mounted co-axially with the drive shaftalthiouglrthesgear"doesnot-turn as the shaft rotates therein: Arm ZSisviattac'hedto the drive shaft 'for conjoint rotational movement beneaththe stationary gear.

S'tubi shafttlfis mounted in theouter end'of arm 28` forrotational"movement"with its axis in spacedparallel relation to'that of{drive shaft16: Spur kgear32 is `carried on'the'stub'shaft and'mesheswithstationary gear-'26.

A second"stub"1sl1aft34is mounted for'rotation `within tliej'drive,shaftwithi'its'axis intersecting that vof the drive shaft Meshing. mitreorbevel gears Y3S are mounted `on theadjacent en'ds ofthestub shafts 30and 34. Disk 36 is .mounted 'on the 'other end of stub shaft 34.

Connecting rod SSinterconnects the periphery Iof-dislt 36 andthetubularh-ub'40 of ldrunr42 whichV encircles the drive shaft andvreciprocates thereon. The drive; shaft contains',alongitudinal keyway44inwhich key46 attached toI the v-in'ner surfacefof `tubularhub 40 slides`and reciprocates;

Thetoutersurface of fthe' drum'is providedwith` two setsjofl cutters,ihtji'lrst set of 'which contains two parallel blades VA48u and"43zrvfacing upwardly, at .approximately a 45 angle and spaced angularly 180apart; and;` the second set which alsocontains twoparallel blades 5021and 1^50b Vfacing downwardly Yat `approximately 'a `45 angle andpositioned betweenthe blades, of Vthe first pair.' Two identicalv feed"chutes `54 are'providedon :opposite sidesf'of the 'drum `in position tofeed a potatoor'othervegetable cuttersaspthe drum rotates .andreciprocates. Openings 56 are," providedVV inthe drum head of thecutters to 4receive the :vegetableL slices as :they are severed;

Intheparticular construction illustrated, the sets of cutters eachcontain two blades; however, each set'may contain onlyone blade or anynumber of blades greater than one asilong asibothzsets have the samevnumber. Although only one` feedfchute is necessary irrespective of thenumber of bladesfineach set ofJ cutters, it is preferable to have thesame number of feed chutes as blades inreach set 'oif cutters. For.example, two jchutes are shown used with cutter sets employingtwo bladeseach andthree chutes could b'e used withthree-blade cutter sets or onlyone chute with a one-blade cutterset.

Anexamination ofEi'gureZ'will show that a potato or other. vegetable inlone ofthe feed chutes will be cut four times `(once by each blade in'both sets ofcutters) during each complete revolution of the drum whichrotates conjointly with the'drive shaftdue to'key 46 riding withinkeyway 44. As the blades pass over 'and through the vegetable they,oficourse, each cut off aslice which producesrfour slices.. for. eachAcomplete revolution of the drum.

As has already beenmentioned, the' drum 42,recip rocates continuously.`while'it' revolves. In the fourblade construction shown, a.2:1 gearratio exists between stationary gearJ 26"andl spur gear32: Mitregears'35 apart.

therein.

are the same size and, therefore, disk 36 makes one, complete revolutionfor each revolution of spur gear 32.

Each complete revolution of disk 36 moves drum 42 through one completecycleofrecprocation upwardrand downward on` the drive shaft or from thefull line; position of Figure lV to the dotted-lineposition and back tothe full line position.

stationary gear 26 and spur gear32, the spur gear turns i one completerevolution for each half'revolution of the drum and shaft or tworevolutions to each full revolution of the drum. Thus, a point on thesurface of the drum will move upwardly and forwardly for `a quarterrevolution, downwardly and forwardly'during the next quarter revolution,thenV upwardly and forwardlyV again,. and finally downwardly andforwardly to the starting point. A point on the drums surface wouldactually describe an oscillating wave pattern as the drum both rotatesand reciprocates.- Y

Now, in connection with .Figures 1 and 6, it will Ybe seen that aportion of the drum lies opposite the feed chutes in both the full lineVand dotted line terminal positions of the drum that are achieved duringthe `continuous cyclic reciprocatory movement thereof. Blade 48a isattached to the drum in position whereby its direction of movementrepresented by arrow 7 is substantially at right angles to the cuttingVedge thereof as it passesV over the inner end of the feed chute 54. Ofcourse, blade 48h will be moving in exactly the same direction withrespect to both Vfeed chutes due to the double reciprocation cyclethattakes place for each full revolution of the drum. Blade 50b (Figures2 and 6) which follows blade 48a across the feed chute is likewisearranged so that its cutting edge is at substantially right angles ltoits direction of movement as it ,crosses the chute; however, blade 50bmoves downwardly and forwardly instead of upwardly and forwardly likeblade 48a. In Figures l and 6 blade 48a is shown in position to moveupwardly and forwardly across the chute as the drum reciprocatesupwardly.

tive tothe other chute while blades 48a and 48h/areV inoperative. Blades48b and 50a, of course, are placed in the sameV positions relative tothe chutes as has `been Vdescribed in connection with blades 48a and50brespectively, and Vwhich has been illustrated diagrammatically inFigure 6. The four blades are angularly spaced 90 In a two-bladeVmachine that would reciprocate only one completeV cycle per revolutionof'drum past a at least one' feed chute positioned to deliver avegetable of the drum, blade bwill move across Athe chute and Vblade 50aon the back `of the drum will do likewise Vrelasingle chute would havethe .blades 180 apartgrwhereas, Y

a six-blade machine reciprocating three cycles past three chutes wouldhave Yeach .blade spaced only apart.

.The chutes also are equiangularly spaced from onerarnother.

Referring now to Figures 3, 4 and 5, it will'be seen that each of theblades is formed to provide a corrugated or scalloped cross section 58in the conventional manner. The blades are mounted on bed plates 60`which are bolted or otherwise attached to the outer surface of thedrum. The sharpened leading edge 62 of theblades 'i projects beyond thebed plates and across the openings ,56 in the drum. VThe first pass of ablade across the exposed face of a vegetable within the inner end of oneof the feedchutes will cut a wavy or ribbed surface TheV next blademoving againstthe once-cut surface will form a second ribbed face acrossthe first in such a manner that the intersecting grooves between passsaid slices into the interior ofthe drum. i

the ribs or lands will be cut away to leave openings in the resultingslice. This, of course, provides the familiar waie chip or slice thathas been'known for many years.

[t is to be noted in this connection that each time a blade Y passesover a chute with a vegetable therein, a complete wafe chip or slice isproduced and itis not necessary to stop the reciprocatoryrmovement ofthe drum while the slice is being cut. four-blade machine will producefour slices or chips during each complete revolution of the drum. Ingeneral, one slice is produced foreach blade per revolution assuming anumber of feed chutes corresponding to the Vnumber of blades in each setof cutters.

In the Figures l through 5V construction, the drum is mounted on avertical axis of rotation and the chips fall freely through theopenlower end of the drum into any convenient receptacle (not shown)including a vessel Vfilled with hot fatinwhich they can be cooked.:

In Figure 7, however, a slightly. different construction has vbeenillustrated in which the drum is mounted for vrotationand reciprocationabout a horizontal axis. The

feed chute 54a may be open at the top on the side in which the bladesare moving downwardly relative to the vegetable. A discharge chute 64may be used to convey the several chips from the drum.

From the foregoing description of the Vmany useful and novel features ofthe vegetableV slicing machine of the Vprese/ntinvention, it will beseen that the several useful objects forvwhich it was designed have beenachieved.

Although the machine has been described in connection 'with only twobasic forms thereof illustrated in the ac- .companying drawing, Irealize that certain modifications .may be made therein by-those skilledin the art within the intended scope of this disclosure; hence, it is myintention that the scope of protection afforded hereby shall be limitedonly insofar as said limitations are expressly set forth in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is: p i

1. In a vegetable slicing machine, drive means, a drive shaftoperatively connected to the drive means for rotational movement, a drummounted co-axially on the drive shaft for Vconjoint rotation therewith,means operatively interconnecting the drive means and drum to effectcontinuous reciprocatory movement thereof relative to the drive shaft assaid drum rotates therewith,

placed herein against the surface of the drum in all reciprocatorypositions thereof, two sets of cutters mounted on the Vsurface of thedrum in oppositely inclined rela-V tion and in position to pass over thedelivery end of the feed chute as thedrum rotates Iand reciprocates,Vone set of cutters being inclined to slice a vegetable in thechuteup-on reciprocatory movement of the drum in one direction and theother of said sets of cutters being inclined to slice the vegetable uponreciprocatory move- .ment of the drumrin the other direction, each ofsaid cutter Vsets containing atleast one blade and both cutter setshaving the samenumber of blades, each of the blades Ain bothcuttersets'being formed with a corrugated cross ,section, the blades of oneset of cutters being equiangularlyr spaced around the circumference Vofthe drum with .fthe Vblades of the other set equiangularly spaced inalter- 4nating relation therebetween, each blade inV both sets ,ofcutters forming means for cutting off a slice from'a vegetable in thechute and placing a ribbed surface thereon each time said blade passessaid chute;

V2. Atdevice in accordance with claim 1 in which the numberof feedchutes corresponds to the number of rblades in each cutter set, the feedchutes being equiangularly spaced around the drum. j Y 3. A device invaccordance with claim 1 in which the drurn is Aprovided with a pluralityof openings ahead of each blade Vto receive the slices las they are cutoff and 4. A deviceinaccordancewith claim l inwhich eachIn-theconstruction shown, the Y set of cutters contains two bladesarranged in angularly spaced parallel relation, the cutting edge of saidblades being positioned at right angles to the direction of movement ofsaid blade as it crosses the -delivery end of the chute.

5. A device in accordance with claim l in which the means for effectingreciprocatory movement of the drum comprises: a crank arm mounted on thedrive shaft for rotation in a plane parallel to the axis of rotation ofsaid drive shaft, a connecting'rod interconnecting the crank arm anddrum, and means operatively interconnecting the drive means and crankarm to effect rotation thereof.

6. A device in accordance with claim 5 in which the means operativelyinterconnecting the drive means and crank arm comprises: a stationarygear mounted coaxially with the drive shaft, said drive shaft rotatingtherein, an arm fixed to the drive shaft for rotation therewith, a stubshaft lcarried for rotation in the arm with the axis of rotation thereoflying in spaced parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said driveshaft, a spur gear mounted on one end of the stub shaft in position tomesh with the stationary gear, a first bevel gear attached to the otherend of the stub shaft, a second stub shaft mounted for rotation in thedrive shaft with the axis of rotation thereof perpendicular to andintersecting the axis of rotation of said drive shaft, and a secondbevel gear mounted on one end -of the second stub shaft in position tomesh with the first bevel gear, the crank arm being attached to theother end of the second stub shaft.

7. A device in accordance with claim 6 in which each set of cutterscontains two blades, the gear ratio between the stationary gear and spurgear is 2:1, and the gear ratio between the first and second bevel gearsis 1:1 whereupon the drum will move through two complete reciprocatorycycles for each 360 turn thereof.

8. A vegetable slicing machine comprising: drive means; a drive shaftoperatively connected to the drive means for rotational movement; a.drum mounted coaxially on the drive shaft for conjoint rotationtherewith and reciprocatory movement relative thereto; a stationary gearmounted co-axially with the drive shaft, said drive shaft rotatingtherein; an arm fixed to the drive shaft for rotation therewith; a stubshaft carried for rotation by the arm with the axisvof rotation thereoflying in spaced parallel relation to the axis of rotation of said driveshaft;

a spur gear fixed to one end of the stub shaft in position to mesh withthe stationary gear; a first bevel gear fixed to the other end of thestub shaft; a second stub shaft mounted for rotation in the drive shaftwith the axis thereof perpendicular to and intersecting the axis ofrotation of said drive shaft; a second bevel gear tixed to one end ofthe second stub shaft in position to mesh with the first bevel gear; acrank arm fixed to the other end of the second stub shaft for rotationalmovement in a plane substantially parallel to the axis of rotation ofthe drive shaft; a connecting rod interconnecting the crank arm and drumto effect continu-ous reciprocatory movement thereof while the' driveshaft is rotating; at least one feed chute positioned to deliver avegetable placed therein against the surface of the drum in allreciprocatory positionsv thereof; two sets of cutters mounted -on thesurface of the drum in oppositely inclined relation and in position topass over the delivery end lof the feed chute as the drum rotates andreciprocates, one set of cutters being inclined to slice a vegetable inthe chute upon reciprocatory movement of the drum in one direction andthe other of said sets ofcutters being inclined to slice the vegetableupon reciprocatory movement of the drum in the other direction; and,each of said cutter sets containing at least one blade and both cuttersets havingv the same number of blades, each of the blades in bothcutter sets being formed with a corrugated cross section, the blades ofone set of cutters being equiangularly spaced around the circumferencelof the drum with the blades of the other set equiangularly spaced inalternating relation therebetween, each blade in both sets of cuttersforming means for cutting olf a slice from a vegetable in the chute andplacing a ribbed surface thereon each time said blade passes said chute.

9. A device in accordance with claim 8 in which each set of cutterscontains two blades, the gear ratio between the stationary gear and spurgear is 2:1, and the gear ratio between the first and second bevel gearsis 1:1 whereupon, the drum will move through two complete reciprocatorycycles for each 360 turn thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS

